death sentence

ON FEBRUARY 7, 20165:30 AMINHEALTHCOMMENTS

By Sola Ogundipe

THIS is the season of  fevers. The menace of fevers is rocking the world. True, yellow fever is no longer a global threat, but malaria fever is still with us while  typhoid fever remains on the prowl . Sierra Leone is still at alert for Ebola fever and Saudi Arabia is wary of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome a.k.a MERS – a viral respiratory illness that is relatively new to humans.

Most people infected with MERS-CoV developed severe acute respiratory illness, including fever, cough, and shortness of breathe. It was first reported three years ago and the Saudi government is “very keen” on finding a vaccine since there is pressing need to control the spread of the MERS virus.

The Lassa fever epidemic,  currently running around in Nigeria,  also comes to mind.

Nigerians are not at ease because there is no  vaccine  against  the disease at  the moment; and  no experimental vaccine has completely protected non-human primates against a lethal challenge.